The Wonderful World of Budgets

Budgets- something the federal government has forgotten about...

Is it bad that that is the first thing I thought of when I heard Preston Trigg say the word budgets? Oh well...lets try again.

Budgets- a surprising wealth of information for journalists when researching government's revenue and expenses

Budgets may be a wealth of information, but knowing how to read and fully understand a budget can be complicated. Like many other students, I am part of an organization on campus. Like businesses and state government, my organization has a budget. Each semester we adopt the budget after thorough deliberation. There's the typical arguments of why funds are being transferred, why more money is allocated to one area over another etc. It is the same situations every semester, and after 2 1/2 years of it I'm used to budgets.

But there is a key difference between the budget of a school organization and a government office. Government affects more than the 50 or so people involved in it!

As Trigg so aptly put it "Budgets are the heart of a government entity." One of the best ways to get a story out of a budget is to follow the money. Almost all budgets are balanced. Although the federal government is not required to balance the budget.

Budgets may include information like growth projection, population, number of employees or an organizational chart. Budgets also cover all aspects of revenues and expenses including debt which is usually in the form of bonds.

When looking through a budget check for noticeable decreases and increases. Those changes can lead to stories much larger than the projected number. Under the expenses section there are 3 sub-sections: personnel, capital and operating.

Capital means a one time purchase over $1000. If you see that there was an increase in capital, check out why the government is paying over $1000 for the specific item. The item may be necessary or it may be a frivolous expense. In relation to that item see if there was supposed to be budget cuts for the fiscal year. How does that capital expense effect the budget?

If you don't understand the budget ask someone. There are a million clues to look for in a budget that can lead to a bigger story.